Rack mountable computer component and method of making same

ABSTRACT

According to at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, there is disclosed a rack mountable computer component which is in the form of an open computer component or blade construction which is adapted to be mounted in a generally upright or vertical disposition within a rack. The operative components such as mother boards are mounted at the front of the component or blade to permit access by the user thereto. The operative components are cooled by vertical air flow relative to the mounted blade to facilitate cooling thereof.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to the following U.S. provisionalapplications: Ser. No. 60/384,996, titled “Rack Mountable ComputerComponent and Method of Making Same”, filed May 31, 2002 now abandoned;Ser. No. 60/384,987, titled “Rack Mountable Computer Component CoolingMethod and Device”, filed May 31, 2002 now abandoned; Ser. No.60/384,986 filed on May 31, 2002, now abandoned titled “Rack MountableComputer Component Fan Cooling Arrangement and Method”, and Ser. No.60/385,005 filed on May 31, 2002, now adandoned, titled “Rack MountableComputer Component Power Distribution Unit and Method”, which are eachhereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

This application relates to the following U.S. non-provisional patentapplications: Ser. No. 10/448,691, titled “Rack Mountable ComputerComponent Cooling Method and Device,” filed May 28, 2003; Ser. No.10/290,676 titled “Rack Mountable Computer Fan Cooling ArrangementMethod;” and Ser. No. 10/448,508 titled “Rack Mountable Component PowerDistribution Unit and Method,” which are each hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general to a new and improved methodcomputer components adapted for rack mounting. It more particularlyrelates to such a method and apparatus for computer components adaptedto be mounted in a compact configuration.

2. Related Art

There have been a variety of different types and kinds of methods andsystems for mounting computer components. For example, reference may bemade to the following United States patents:

U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUE DATE 4,258,967 Boudreau Mar. 31, 10814,879,634 Storrow et at. Nov. 7, 1989 4,977,532 Borkowicz et al. Dec.11, 1990 5,010,444 Storrow et al. Apr. 23, 1991 5,216,579 Basara et al.Jun. 1, 1993 5,460,441 Hastings et al. Oct. 24, 1995 5,571,256 Good etal. Nov. 5, 1996 5,684,671 Hobbs et al. Nov. 4, 1997 5,877,938 Hobbs etal. Mar. 2, 1999 5,896,273 Varghese et al. Apr. 30, 1999 6,025,989 Aydet al. Feb. 15, 2000 6,058,025 Ecker et al. May 2, 2000 6,075,698 Hoganet al. Jun. 13, 2000 6,220,456 B1 Jensen et al. Apr. 24, 2001 6,305,556B1 Mayer Oct. 23, 2001 6,315,249 B1 Jensen et al. Nov. 13, 20016,325,636 B1 Hipp et al. Dec. 4, 2001 Re. 35,915 Hastings et al. Oct. 6,1998 Des. 407,358 Belanger et al. Mar. 30, 1999

As a result of having available a large number of different types andkinds of mounting techniques, a standard has been adopted for mountingcomputer components in racks according to a certain modularconfiguration. In this regard, computer components such as computerprocessor units, and the like, are mounted one above the other in acolumn in standard size rack configurations. The standard is referred toas the EIA-310-D Standard, as clarified by the Server Rack Specification(SSI).

The housing for each computer device must have a certain heightdimensions according to the Standard. The height dimension must be amultiple of a standard unit “U”. Thus, there can be computer componentswhich are 1 “U” (standard unit) high or multiples thereof. Thus, therecan also be standard rack mountable computer components which are 1 U, 2U, 3 U, 4 U and so on.

Thus, according to the conventional currently-used standard, racks areprovided for storage of computer components in tightly spaced, denselypacked horizontal dispositions, and each computer component mounted inthe rack is suitably dimensioned in multiples of standard unit U. Theracks are movably mounted on casters or the like so that they can bereadily positioned in, for example, a computer room having a tightlycontrolled air conditioning system to ensure proper cooling of thecomputer equipment.

It is highly desirable to configure the computer components in the rackin a compact and highly dense manner for some applications. Thus, it hasbeen important for many applications to position in the computer room orother assigned space as many computer components as possible.

In order to compactly mount the computer components on the rack in ahigh density manner, they are closely positioned one above the other ina column. The data and power cables are positioned in a back plane areaor space within the rack.

For cooling purposes, various techniques are employed. For example,individual fans have been mounted within the housing of each computercomponent. The interiors of the housing have been exhausted to a fanexhaust plenum chamber often times constructed within the rack at oneside thereof.

Such conventional rack mounted systems have several drawbacks. Theindividual fans mounted in each component are expensive, andtime-consuming to replace in case of malfunctions. Also, the back planespace and fan exhaust plenum chamber are wasted space in that theyoccupy spaces which could otherwise be filled with computer components.

Additionally, in order to assemble the rack mounted system forinstallation at the site, each component must be installed in placewithin the rack, and then the cabling for each unit is routed within therack at its back plane space. Such an operation is time consuming, andtherefore expensive since highly trained personnel are required to dosuch an installation. Furthermore, once installed, in order to replace amalfunctioning computer component, the entire system, or at least asubstantial portion thereof, must be shut down so that themalfunctioning unit can be disassembled, and a replacement unitinstalled and reconnected electrically. This, too, is time consuming andexpensive.

In conventional rack mounted computer components, since the cabling forthe computer components are often times mounted at the back portion ofthe rack, the principal circuit boards such as mother boards are mountedat the rear portion of the computer component housing for ease ofattachment to the cabling at the rear of the rack. Such a configurationof the circuit boards within the computer component housing is less thandesirable for some applications. For example, a user may wish to connecttest components such as a keyboard and monitor to a given one of therack mounted computer components. It is difficult to accomplishordinarily because the access to the mother board is disposed at therear of the housing. In this regard, access to a given computercomponent must be made at the rear of the rack where a large number ofcables are present and thus block access to the computer module.Additionally, by mounting the mother board at the rear of the componenthousing, it is frequently difficult and expensive to mount fans andbaffles to direct air entering the front of the housing and beingexhausted from the rear thereof.

Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improvedcomputer component construction which is relatively easy for the user toaccess individual components and which is relatively efficient andeffective to ventilate for cooling purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following is a brief description of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a rack-mounted system showing the front,left side and top thereof, which is constructed in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the rack-mounted system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view of the rack-mounted system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the rack-mounted system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view of the rack-mounted system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial view of the rack-mounted system of FIG. 1, showingthe rear, right side and top thereof;

FIG. 7 is a pictorial view of the housing of the rack-mounted system ofFIG. 1 without various components being mounted for illustrationpurposes;

FIG. 8 is a pictorial view of the housing of FIG. 7 illustrating theprocess of installation of fan/LAN trays;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged scale pictorial view of one embodiment of afan/LAN tray for the rack-mounted system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a pictorial view of the housing of FIG. 7 with the fan/LANtrays installed;

FIG. 11 is a pictorial view of the housing of FIG. 7 illustrating theprocess of installation of blades;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, enlarged scale front elevational view of therack-mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the relative positioning ofthe fan/LAN trays and the blades;

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic, right-side elevational view of therack-mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the configuration of theright-side cabling;

FIG. 14 is a bottom fragmentary pictorial view of the rack-mountedsystem of FIG. 1 illustrating the cabling in the front and right portionof the control bay;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic, left-side elevational view of therack-mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the configuration of theleft-side cabling;

FIG. 16 is a bottom fragmentary pictorial view of the rack-mountedsystem of FIG. 1 illustrating the cabling in the rear and left portionof the control bay;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged scale, fragmentary pictorial view of oneembodiment of a power distribution unit (PDU) for the rack-mountedsystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a front elevational view of the PDU shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary top view of the PDU shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a rear elevational view of the PDU shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is a diagrammatic view of the rack-mounted system of FIG. 1illustrating the flow of air therethrough;

FIG. 22 is a diagrammatic view of another embodiment of a rack-mountedsystem according to the present invention and illustrating the flow ofair therethrough;

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view of yet another embodiment of arack-mounted system according to the present invention and illustratingthe flow of air therethrough;

FIG. 24 is a diagrammatic view of still another embodiment of arack-mounted system according to the present invention and illustratingthe flow of air therethrough;

FIG. 25 is an enlarged scale top view of one embodiment of a blade ofthe rack-mounted system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 26 is a left side elevational view of the blade of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

According to at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the presentinvention, there is disclosed a rack mountable computer component whichis in the form of an open computer component or blade construction whichis adapted to be mounted in a generally upright or vertical dispositionwithin a rack. The operative components such as mother boards aremounted at the front of the component or blade to permit access by theuser thereto. The operative components are cooled by vertical air flowrelative to the mounted blade to facilitate cooling thereof.

According to disclosed embodiments of the invention, the componentconstruction includes a support having the active components mounted onat least one side thereof and being adapted to be supported in agenerally upright configuration. A front panel extends transversely to afront edge portion of the support and an outlet disposed thereat isconnected to at least one of the operative components. An electricalpower inlet is mounted at a rear edge portion of the support to receiveelectrical power for the operative components.

As disclosed herein, the support includes a cut-out portion, and thepower inlet is disposed near the cut-out portion. The segment isgenerally rectangular in shape and is substantially rigid. Also, asdisclosed herein, at least one of the operative components such as amother board is disposed near the front edge portion of the support andis connected electrically to the outlet. As further disclosed herein, acable is connected electrically to the outlet on the front panel toconvey electrical information from the operative components.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the invention, one edgeof the front panel is disposed at an edge of the support to form anL-shaped configuration. Thus, the transverse front panel and thesupports are so constructed and arranged that the resulting componentconstruction can be arranged in a generally upright side-by-sideconfiguration with like units in a close abutting relationship. Thus,the front panels of the like components provide a substantiallycontinuous upright wall, and yet the operative components are mounted onthe upright support in an open configuration. In this manner, thecomponent constructions can be disposed in a vertical flow path for airmoving past the active components mounted on this upright support.

General System Description

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through21 and 29 and 30, there is illustrated one embodiment of a rack mountedsystem 10 according to the present disclosed embodiments of theinvention. The rack mounted system 10 includes a rack housing 12configured generally as a rectangular box having a plurality of verticalbays 14. The embodiment illustrated in the drawings includes threevertically spaced-apart bays 14.

Each bay 14 is divided into a front bay portion 16 and a rear bayportion 18 by an intermediate transversely-extending horizontal divider19. The intermediate divider 19 is most clearly illustrated in FIG. 7.The bays 14 are formed in the rack housing 12 in a vertical manner oneabove the other. In a bottom portion of the rack housing 12, a controlbay 21 is provided to house various controlled components, ashereinafter described in greater detail.

The rack housing 12 further includes a fan/LAN tray slot 23 above eachbay 14. Each fan/LAN tray slot is configured to accommodate a fan/LANtray such as tray 27.

The embodiment illustrated in the drawings provides a control bay 21(FIG. 7) having a bottom opening 25 (FIG. 7) for facilitating air flowto receive vertically moving air flow from a vent opening 26 in a floor28 and vertically through the system 10 as assisted by the fan/LANtrays. At the top of the rack housing 12, an apertured top panel 26(FIG. 1) is provided to permit venting of the vertically moving air flowfrom the system 10.

At the top portion of each bay 14, in the intermediate region betweenthe front bay portion 16 and the rear bay portion 18, as best seen inFIGS. 1, 5, 6 and 8, a power distribution unit (PDU) 29 is provided tosupply electricity to various components mounted in the rack mountedsystem. Each bay is adapted to accommodate a plurality of computercomponents in the form of open structure computer components or blades,such as blade 32 (FIG. 1), in each of the front bay portions 16 and therear bay portions 18. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures,eleven blades may be accommodated in each of the front bay and rear bayportions in a generally upright disposition. Thus, in the illustratedembodiment, the system 10 accommodates 66 computer components in adensely compact, closely spaced configuration.

The bottom control bay 21 is adapted to accommodate various controlcomponents. These control components may include a circuit breakerjunction box 34, as most clearly illustrated in FIG. 6. The circuitbreaker junction box 34 is electrically connected to each PDU. As shownin FIG. 4, a switch module 36 is also provided in the control bay 21.The switch module 36 is adapted to control communication between thevarious blades, such as blade 32, and a network, such as a local areanetwork, wide area network, or a public network, such as the internet.Further, the control bay 21 accommodates an air intake fan module 38(FIGS. 1 and 5) for facilitating intake of air through the bottomopening 25 and facilitating vertical air flow through the blades and thebays 14 and out the apertured top panel 26.

The embodiment of the rack system 10 illustrated in the figures includesfour casters 41 for rollably supporting the system on the floor 26 (FIG.5) for easy portability of the rack system 10. Other embodiments of therack system according to the present invention may be floor mounted,thereby including legs or skids in place of the casters for directmounting to the floor.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, the fan/LAN tray 27 and its installationinto the rack housing 12 will be described in further detail. FIG. 9illustrates one embodiment of a fan/LAN tray 27 for use with the racksystem 10 illustrated in the drawings. The fan/LAN tray 27 includeseight suitable fans for facilitating vertical air flow. Although theembodiment illustrated in the drawings includes eight fans per tray, anysuitable number of fans may be used.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention,the fan tray may also be divided into a plurality of separate trays ortray portions, each of which can be removed independently so that theremaining tray portion can continue to function. In this regard, it iscontemplated that the LAN connections may be made in a unit or componentseparate from the fan tray or tray portions so that the tray or trayportion may be removed independently of the LAN component. In the frontportion of the fan/LAN tray 27, a series of LAN connector ports 45(FIGS. 1 and 9) is provided. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9,each fan/LAN tray 27 includes 12 LAN connector ports 45, the end one ofwhich may be used for test purposes. While 12 LAN connectors are shownin the disclosed embodiment, it should be understood that any number ofsuch connectors may be employed for a given application. Internal wiringleads (not shown) from each LAN connector port 45 extend to one of twosignal connectors 47 (FIG. 9) in the back portion of the fan/LAN tray27. In one embodiment, each signal connector 47 is a 50 pin signalconnector, and is connected electrically to the switch module 36.Further, each fan/LAN tray includes a AC power inlet 49 in the backportion for providing power to the fans. When installed, power may besupplied to the fans 43 through the AC power inlet 49 from the PDU 29,as hereinafter described in greater detail.

For facilitating installation of the fan/LAN tray 27 into the fan/LANtray slot 23 of the rack housing 12, as shown in FIG. 9, guides 52 maybe provided on the sides of each fan/LAN tray 27. During theinstallation process, the guides, preferably nylon guides, may engagecorresponding member on the sides of the fan/LAN tray slots 23. Further,a locking mechanism may be provided in conjunction with the guides 52for securing the fan/LAN tray 27 into the fan/LAN tray slot 23 to helpsupport the fan/LAN tray. Once installed, each fan/LAN tray 27 occupiesan area directly above either the front bay portion 16 or the rear bayportion 18. Accordingly, a fan/LAN tray in the front and a fan/LAN trayin the rear may completely cover each bay 14 level. Thus, as illustratedmost clearly in FIG. 10, a total of 6 fan/LAN trays 27, in addition tothe air intake fan module 38 may be provided in a three bay level rackmounted system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Computer Component Construction

Referring now to FIGS. 11, 25 and 26, the computer components or blades32 and their installation into the rack housing 12 will now be describedin greater detail. Each blade is provided with a pair of handles 54projecting from the front face of a front panel. The front panel extendstransversely to a rigid upright support or plate and is connected to thefront edge of the support in an L-shaped configuration. The handlesallow a user to easily manipulate the blade 32 to be grasped by the userto slide the blade into or out of its bay. Each blade 32 may include oneor more mother boards 56. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 25 and26, each blade 32 includes two mother boards 56 a, 56 b. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that the number of mother boards included ineach blade 32 may be varied according to design. The mother board mayinclude heat sinks such as heat sinks 58 and 59 for facilitating thecooling of the mother boards. Further, each mother board is providedwith random access memory (RAM) 61. The amount of RAM 61 provided foreach mother board may be varied as needed. A pair of power supply 63 a,63 b may be provided on the blade 32 for supplying power to theircorresponding mother boards 56 a, 56 b. Similarly, a pair of hard disks64 a, 64 b may also be provided on the blade 32.

All of the components are mounted on one side of the rigid plate orsupport 64, which is adapted to be supported vertically within its bay.Each blade 32 includes a cut-out corner portion or section 65 in itsupper back portion. The cut-out portion 65 is sized to receive andaccommodate the PDU 29 therebetween such that two opposing blades 32 and32 a (as shown in FIG. 26) accommodate the PDU 29 almost completely.Thus, a substantially zero footprint is achieved for the PDU 29. Eachblade 32 is provided with an AC power inlet such as an inlet 67 at ornear the cut-out portion 65. Thus, when the blade 32 is installed intothe rack housing 12, the AC power inlet 67 engages electrically acorresponding AC connector such as a connector 76 (FIG. 17) of the PDU29.

As most clearly illustrated in FIG. 11, the installation of the blade 32may be achieved in a fast and efficient manner. The blade 32 is simplyslid into either the front bay portion 16 or the rear bay portion 18 ofa bay 14 of the rack housing 12. Each blade 32 is slid back until its ACpower inlet 67 engages a corresponding AC connector 76 on the PDU 29.The intermediate dividers 19 serve as a back stop for the blades 32.Each blade 32 is secured in its slot by four blade screws 69, whichattach the blade 32 to the rack housing 12.

Once the blade 32 has been mounted onto the rack housing 12, a shortblade/LAN connector cable such as a cable 45 (FIG. 12) or a cable 71(FIG. 1) provides electrical networking connection between the blade 32and a network such as a local area network, wide area network or apublic network such as the internet. In this regard, the mother boardsare each mounted at the front of each blade, and thus access thereto isreadily available at front outlets such as at outlet 73 (FIG. 12). Thus,a data connection can be made from the outlet 73, through a short cable45, an inlet 77 of a PDU 29, which is coupled to the switch module 36.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 through 20, the power distribution unit 29will now be described in greater detail. The PDU 29 supplies power froman external power source, through the circuit breaker junction box 34,to the various blades 32 and the fan/LAN trays 27. Each PDU 29 includesan elongated PDU body 74, which preferably is formed of a two piece, 18gauge steel chassis. Each of two sides of the PDU body 74 includes aseries of female AC connectors 76. In the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 17 through 20, each side is provided with 12 female AC connectors76. The twelve connectors 76 correspond to eleven blades mounted in thefront bay portion 16 and the rear bay portion 18 of each bay 14 and afan/LAN tray 27. The twelfth connector is for an AC power outlet on thefront of the fan tray.

Thus, 12 female AC connectors 76 are provided on each of a front sideand a rear side of the PDU body 74. Each set of twelve female ACconnectors 76 receives power through a pair of power cables 72. In oneembodiment, the power cable 72 is a 15 amp power cable with strainedrelief near its junction with the PDU body 74. As described below, thepower cables 72 are routed to the circuit breaker junction box 34 in thecontrol bay 21. The PDU body 74 may also include a series of mountingstuds 78 for installation of the PDU body 74 to the rack housing 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 through 16, the routing of the various powerand LAN cables will now be described in detail. As illustrated mostclearly in FIG. 13, the power cables 72 from the PDU's 29 at each baylevel are directed along the right side of the rack housing 12 towardthe front portion of the rack housing 12 and to the bottom, where theyare connected electrically to the circuit breaker junction box 34. Thus,in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, six power cables 72 areconnected to the circuit breaker junction box 34, since there are twofrom each one of the three PDUs. A set of three cables generallyindicated at 80 are each adapted to be coupled to a suitable source ofAC power to supply power to the system 10.

As also illustrated in FIG. 13, a set of six LAN cables 81 from thefan/LAN trays and PDUs are routed along the rear right side of the rackhousing 12 to the switch module 36. In the embodiment illustrated in thedrawings, two LAN cables 81 extend from each PDU which, in turn, areconnected electrically to a pair of fifty pin signal connectors 47.Thus, six such cables 81 are directed along the right side of the rackhousing 12. Similarly, as most clearly shown in FIG. 15, six LAN cables81 extend from the fan/LAN trays 27 and PDUs along the left front sideof the rack housing 12. These six cables 81 are also connected at theirlower ends to the switch module 36.

Once the rack system 10 is fully assembled with all the fan/LAN trays27, PDUs 29 and the blades 32 in place, a fully assembled and efficientrack mounted system is provided. In such a system, networking of thevarious components provided on the blades 32 is also performedefficiently. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, elevenblades are accommodated at each of the front bay portion 16 and the rearbay portion 18 at each bay 14. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated, 66such blades 32 may be accommodated. However, some of the slots may beoccupied by master computer components or blades such as the masterblades indicated at 32 a in FIGS. 4 and 6. In the illustratedembodiment, two master blades 32 a are provided in the bottom of thethree blade bays directly above the switch module 36. The master blades32 a are connected electrically directly to the switch module 36 viahigh speed connections (not shown) such as fiber optic connections. Themaster blades control the switch module 36 to switch communicationbetween the various slave blades 32 and the master blades. Accordingly,64 slave blades may be accommodated by the illustrated embodiment of thesystem. Each of the 64 slave blades may be hot swappable, for example,allowing replacement of the blades 32 without causing the shutting downof the system 10.

Each fan/LAN tray 27 is provided with twelve LAN connector ports such asthe port 45 (FIG. 1). Eleven of the 12 LAN connector ports 45 areadapted to permit communication between the various slave blades 32 andthe switch module 36. The twelfth LAN connector port 45 allows anexternal user to connect an-external device such as a laptop computer tothe network. Further, each fan/LAN tray 27 is provided with a centrallydisposed AC power outlet for connecting such an external device.

According to the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, and asindicated diagrammatically in FIG. 21, the system 10 illustrated in thefigures provides efficient air flow to maintain a cool operatingtemperature for the various components mounted on the blades 32. Airflow is directed from the bottom opening 25 by the air intake fan module38 located in the control bay 21. The air intake fan module 38 directsthe air flow vertically through the various open structure blades 32 ateach bay level 14. The air flow is further facilitated by the fans 43 ineach fan/LAN tray 27 to move the air in its upwardly directed path oftravel. The air flow is directed out of the rack housing 12 through theapertured top panel 26.

FIGS. 21 through 24 illustrate further embodiments of the presentinvention. As illustrated in FIGS. 21 through 24, the intake and exhaustof the air flow may be varied to accommodate various configurations asto the availability of air supply in the immediate environment. Forexample, in FIG. 22, an air intake fan module 38 a draws air from abottom opening 25 a, similar to that illustrated in the embodiment shownin FIGS. 1 through 21. Air flow is directed vertically with the aid offans 43 a mounted on fan/LAN trays. However, unlike the previouslydescribed embodiment, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 22, the airflow is re-directed from a vertical path of travel at right angles to ahorizontal path of travel out of the rack system 10 a towards the rearof the rack housing. An air flow hood 85 a facilitates the rearwardre-direction of the air flow.

FIG. 23 illustrates yet another embodiment of the rack system accordingto the present invention. In this embodiment, an air intake fan module38 b draws air horizontally inwardly through an opening such as definedby a perforated plate 87 b in the bottom front portion of the rackhousing. The air flow is then re-directed upwardly with the aid of fans43 b mounted in fan/LAN trays. The air flow is directed vertically outof the top portion of rack system 10 b.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 24, an air intake fan module 38 cdraws air horizontally through an opening such as defined by aperforated plate 87 c in the front bottom portion of the rack housing.The air flow is re-directed vertically through this system with the aidof fans 43 c. The air flow is re-directed at right angles to ahorizontal path of travel out of the rack housing rearwardly at the topof the rack housing. The rearward redirection of the air flow isfacilitated by an airflow hood 85 c. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that other variations on the intake and exhaust ofthe air flow are possible in accordance with other embodiments of thepresent invention.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed, it is to be understood that various different modificationsand combinations are possible and are contemplated within the truespirit and scope of the appended claims. There is no intention,therefore, of limitations to the exact abstract and disclosure hereinpresented.

1. A computer component construction for mounting in a generally uprightdisposition within a rack or the like comprising: a support havingoperative components mounted on at least one side thereof, and beingadapted to be supported in a generally upright configuration; a frontpanel extending transversely to a front edge portion of said supporthaving an outlet thereat connected electrically to at least one of theoperative components; and an electrical power inlet mounted at a rearedge portion of said support to receive electrical power for saidoperative components.
 2. A computer component construction according toclaim 1, wherein said support includes a cut-out portion, said powerinlet being disposed near said cut-out portion.
 3. A computer componentconstruction according to claim 2, wherein said support is generallyrectangular in shape.
 4. A computer component construction according toclaim 3, wherein said support is substantially rigid.
 5. A computercomponent construction according to claim 2, wherein at least one ofsaid operative components to be disposed near said front edge portion ofsaid support and is connected electrically to said outlet.
 6. A computercomponent construction according to claim 5, further including a cablefor connecting electrically to said outlet or said front panel to conveyelectrical information from the operative components.
 7. A computercomponent construction according to claim 5, wherein said at least oneoperative component is a mother board.
 8. A computer componentconstruction according to claim 7, wherein another one of said operativecomponents is a hard drive.
 9. A computer component constructionaccording to claim 8, wherein still another one of said operativecomponents to a power supply.
 10. A computer component constructionaccording to claim 9, wherein a further one of said operative componentsis a second mother board.
 11. A computer component constructionaccording to claim 1, further including a handle connected to the frontface of the front panel.
 12. A computer component construction accordingto claim 1, wherein one edge of said front panel is disposed at an edgeof said support to form an L-shaped configuration.
 13. A method ofmaking a computer component construction, comprising: mounting operativecomponents on at least one side of a support; connecting a front panelto a front edge portion of the support for extending transverselythereto; connecting an outlet to the front panel and connecting itelectrically to at least one of the operative components; and connectinga power inlet at a rear edge portion of said support to receiveelectrical power for said operative components.
 14. A method accordingto claim 13, further including providing said support with at least onecut-out portion, and connecting the power inlet to the support at thecut-out portion.
 15. A method according to claim 14, further includingdisposing at least one of the operative components near the front edgeportion of the support.
 16. A method according to claim 15, furtherincluding connecting electrically said at least one of the operativecomponents to the outlet.
 17. A method according to claim 13, furtherincluding connecting a cable electrically to the outlet on the frontpanel.